# Possible TMI: what's with food that comes back up after chewing and swallowing, but without vomiting **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2022, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776 "2022-11-30T05:27:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/1 "2022-11-30T05:27:01Z")
Can someone explain this strange experience I had over the Thanksgiving holidays? Short version: food I had chewed and swallowed slowly came back up without apparently vomiting. Longer version: I was eating sliced turkey with gravy. I was chewing and swallowing it, but possibly not chewing it enough because at one point, it seemed to get stuck and I could feel it (with some pain) about halfway down my back. I had another bite or two thinking it would “work itself out” and go down. But it didn’t. I never felt any breathing problems while this was occurring. The pain increased a little, so I tried standing up and going to the bathroom, thinking this might encourage it to go down. Here is the weird part. While standing in the bathroom, stuff started to slowly come back up. First, I got some thick liquid slowly moving back up, which I spit out. This happened 3 or 4 times. Then 2 or 3 times, chewed turkey slowly came up, which I also spit out. All during this, I never vomited, gagged, or regurgitated. There wasn’t any forceful expulsion. It was fairly slow and gentle. After this was over, I was able to finish my dinner without any further problems (but I did chew more thoroughly). So what happened here? I never experienced anything like this before. What mechanism can explain this? Thanks, J. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/2 "2022-11-30T05:49:24Z")
This, almost, certainly does’t apply to you but… That kind of ‘incomplete swallowing’, really Dysphagia, is a symptom of my Myasthenia Gravis. If it doesn’t happen again it was _probably_ nothing . . . if it happens again you should see someone. It is a symptom of some scary disorders. When I’ve been hospitalized for the MG it’s been the folks from Speech-Language Pathology that see if I can swallow well enough to eat off of the regular menu. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/3 "2022-11-30T13:31:00Z")
Google up the term Schatzki’s ring. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/4 "2022-11-30T16:58:00Z")
I’m going to go with the standard rules for anyone with swallowing issues. - Take smaller bites - Chew each bite more times - Make sure you swallow completely before starting the next bite - Sip your drink between each bite ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/5 "2022-11-30T17:17:00Z")
If it is not vomiting, and you can tell by the taste, there is no acid, then it is still called regurgitation. Did the regurgitate appear to be covered in a transparent mucus? When you spit it into the toilet, did it seem to produce very long threads before breaking away? If so, you may want to check [esophageal achalasia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esophageal_achalasia). It happens to me ocasionally, it’s not so bad, but for some people it can be very distressing. Glad to read you could continue your meal without problems, that sounds reassuring. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/6 "2022-11-30T17:45:20Z")
Transparent mucus: Yep. Long threads before breaking away: Yep. Looks like I’ll be checking out esophageal achalasia. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/7 "2022-11-30T17:59:44Z")
That may be it, but many conditions include similar symptoms among the many they have. [Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease) can also present with these symptoms. I have it and food comes up after large meals at meals without vomiting. Regurgitation happens from a large number of named ailments. It’s the sniffles of intestinal problems. Don’t stop with any one diagnosis from the internet. And you should probably see a doctor. GERD led to [Barrett’s esophagus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett%27s_esophagus) for me and required minor surgery to close up the tear it created. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/8 "2022-11-30T18:16:21Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Regurgitation happens from a large number of named ailments. It’s the sniffles of intestinal problems. And there’s always hiatal hernia. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/9 "2022-11-30T19:58:41Z")
Check it, of course, but remember that I am not a doctor. I hope you find the right doctor with the right diagnosis. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/10 "2023-11-12T10:48:32Z")
So almost a year later, how are you doing? Did it happen again, have you got a diagnosis or received a treatment? ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-tmi-whats-with-food-that-comes-back-up-after-chewing-and-swallowing-but-without-vomiting/975776/11 "2023-11-12T19:07:01Z")
Sorry I don’t have a definitive answer except the one I got from the doctor: “probably nothing to worry about”. I did have an endoscopy in which they concluded that there didn’t seem to be anything wrong. They said the same thing as someone above: smaller bites, chew more, etc. They also recommended that I cut out the Advil I was taking for a different problem (rotator cuff tear), which I did and it seemed to help. So, no real identification of the problem, but it has mostly gone away. Thanks for asking, J.